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IHS Markit smartphone research is different. We deliver comprehensive smartphone data, down to specific models and component categories, providing you with the detailed insight and data you need on the rapidly evolving global smartphone industry.

The Omdia Smartphone Model Market Tracker consists of a comprehensive breakdown and an in-depth analysis report, delivered on a quarterly basis, providing key insights and data on the smartphone industry.

The Mobile Handset Specification Search Tool includes over 250 specification attributes with the ability to filter. The database includes handset specifications from devices released in 1999 to present day.

AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile have provided insights into how the spread of the Coronavirus outbreak has impacted their mobile handset business. Each carrier reported declines in equipment revenues for Q1 2020: AT&T’s mobile equipment revenue declined by eight percent year-over-year, while Verizon’s equipment revenue declined by 31.5% from Q1 2019 to Q1 2020. T-Mobile split its competitors, by reporting a 15.9% decline in equipment revenue. AT&T and Verizon has seen continuous negative equipment growth since Q1 2019, while T-Mobile started its current downward trend in Q2 2019.

The Media & Technology Digest provides a monthly analysis of the key trends and innovations shaping the global technology landscape. Written by our senior analysts the digest includes a detailed focus on key industry hot topics, analysis of all major industry and product announcements with in-depth examinations of significant industry trends.

Within the realm of smartphone electronics design, the emergence of 5G RF front-end complications are presenting a new set of challenges. The demands for multiple 5G frequencies, TDD and FDD flavors and even multiple millimeter wave antenna modules within the finite space of the humble smartphone form-factor has pushed the industry to look for a solution to tame that complexity.

With the launch of the new Edge-series of devices, Motorola continues to re-vamp its smartphone portfolio. With a new curved display design, Motorola is embracing the screen trend of the last two years.
The motorola edge+ is a flagship device, ready to take on the competition.

Apple’s now 12-year-old iPhone franchise has just been shaken up. Without much fanfare and in the mist of the COVID-19 global crisis, Apple released an updated SE model referred to as iPhone SE (2nd Gen).

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, has been preaching an “AI-first” approach to their mobile go-to-market strategy for a while now. If we look inside the hardware designs of Pixel phones from the Pixel 2 to the current Pixel 4, what we found puzzling is the inclusion of a discrete NPU chip.

OnePlus launched two 5G-enabled devices: the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro. With its latest smartphones, OnePlus is further moving towards the premium segment of the market: the company is adding long awaited hardware features, while at the same time raising the entry level price point.

Using a remote live streaming venue instead of the pre-COVID in-person press conference, OnePlus today announced the follow up to their flagship model, the all-5G-capable OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro. The introduction was not unexpected as last year’s OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro (as well as the 6 series the year before that) was introduced in the same month of April. For OnePlus, their April flagship has become a tradition of sorts; just as predictable as those of Samsung, Huawei and Apple. For OnePlus, the appeal of the no-frills/high specification/lower cost premium designs have attracted a loyal following of youthful and tech-savvy consumers. More notable at today’s announcement was OnePlus win with another major US carrier - Verizon (in addition to last year with T-Mobile). Any new brands making it to the premium lineup of a US carrier is a big deal given the long history of failed attempts (i.e. Amazon, Sony and Essential). This implicit support by another major carrier to carrier OnePlus devices in ultra-premium segment speaks volumes about the successes OnePlus has achieved over the past several years.

With an on-going pandemic and uncertainty in global economies as the backdrop, Huawei today launched their flagship P40 series, an all-5G lineup of three imaging-focused models that is straight out of Samsung’s Galaxy S20 playbook. The P-series has been a category leader for Huawei since the days of the P7 in 2014. Initially marketed as the fashion-oriented smartphone, Huawei has since evolved the P series franchise into a mobile photography powerhouse.

First generation design of any new “G” smartphone is, for all intent and purposes, a study in design compromises. To get product to market on time, non-ideal designs are used in order to balance performance and timeliness of product launch.

So much of what is talked about surrounding 5G connectivity has been focused on the download side of the network. While it is true that there are ever-evolving improvements to pump data from the cell tower to the devices faster such as carrier aggregation, higher order modulation and 4x4 MIMO, little attention has been paid to improving the uplink channel [from device to network]. Within the 3GPP Release 15 [which marked the official launch of 5G New Radio (NR)], a key design requirement of the new wireless standard calls for the implementation of MIMO on both network and devices. For example, 5G smartphones using the globally common TDD band N78 (3.5GHz), will be required to have 4x4 MIMO connectivity and fast antenna switches to perform SRS (Sounding Reference Signal) built within the 5G RFFE . The reliance of wider bandwidths of higher frequencies in 5G NR has forced the design decision to implement download enhancements [as RF propogation becomes more challenged as radio wavelengths decrease]. This inherent physical limitation of path loss dictates the use of massive MIMO antennas on the network infrastructure side as well as 4x4 MIMO on the device. In this article, we will discuss how this new 5G RFFE design challenge means for the RF components ecosystem; specifically, the additional use of PAMiFs (power amplifier module with integrated filters).